There are other ways to protest besides destroying public or private property

(National Sentinel) Law and order: Without commenting on whether he agrees or disagrees with events in Charlottesville, Va., a North Carolina sheriff says he’s coming after those who destroyed a Confederate monument earlier this week.

It’s not politics, though — it’s a matter of law and order.

As noted by The Blaze, Durham, N.C. police witnessed the destruction but did not intervene because the monument was on county property.

Durham County Sheriff Mike Andrews said Tuesday that pepper spray was considered but leaders decided on restraint to avoid injuries and further chaos, WTVD-TV reported.

“Don’t mistake restraint for inaction,” Andrews said during the news conference, the station said. “If I had my deputies to engage a hostile crowd, there would have been injuries.”

He said that people seen in the video will be arrested, WTVD reported.

“Last night we witnessed a blatant violation of the law,” Andrews said. “No one is getting away with damaging the Confederate statue. We will pursue felony charges.”

More:

The woman who climbed a ladder and put a nylon rope around the statue so that others could pull it down identified herself as 22-year-old Takiyah Thompson in a WTVD interview Tuesday.

“I feel like it’s important to tear down these vestiges of white supremacy,” Thompson — who said she’s a member of the Workers World Party and admitted her involvement — told WTVD.

Durham County manager Wendell Davis called pulling the statue down “unlawful and inappropriate” at the conference, the station said.

Davis added that state law mandates the protection of Confederate monuments and that county officials will be consulting with state officials regarding what’s to become of the heavily damaged monument, WTVD said.

There are other ways to protest besides destroying public or private property, but members of the Alt-Left seem to believe they have some righteous divine providence to break whatever rules they deem necessary in order to make their political point.

They don’t have that divine right. And at least one law enforcement official is prepared to teach some of them that lesson.